Birth and Family
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| Registration of John's birth in 1894 |
John Minnery was born on December 20th 1894 at 4.10am at 14 Cloth Street in Barrhead. He was the sixth child of John and Mary Minnery (nee Gaffney). His siblings at the time of his birth were Jessie (aged 8), Robert (aged 6), Annie (aged 5), Mary (4) and Winifred (aged 1).
In the years after John four further children were born to John and Mary. Margaret was born in 1897. Elizabeth followed a year later in 1898 but, tragically, she died 2 days after being born. Another daughter was born in 1900 and she was baptised as Elizabeth in memory of her late sister. A tenth child, their third son, William was born in 1901. William is my maternal Grandfather.
The 1901 Census - Where is John?
In official records John doesn’t appear again until the census of 1901. During that census John is not found at home with his parents but across the town with his maternal Grandparents, the Gaffneys. |
| Census taken at John's house in 1901 - but John is not present |
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| ..because he is visiting his maternal Grandparents |
The 1911 Census
The subsequent census in 1911 shows the entire family together at 16 Cloth Street Barrhead. |
| 1911 Census - John & Mary Minnery's Family. |
With the family now being 10 years older since the last Census it is interesting to see what jobs they are occupied in. The children's father,John, aged 49, is a Printfield Labourer. Their mother, Mary, aged 48, is listed as a "Wife". Jessie, now 24 years old, is a School Teacher in a "Roman Catholic School". Robert, aged 22, is a Barman in a "Wine Merchants". Mary, aged 20, is a Cloth Folder in "Calico Printing", Now aged 19 Annie is a Yarn Beam Linker in a Yarn Bleaching works. As a 17 year old Winifred is Laundry Worker in a family Laundry. John, 16, is working at the same job as his father as a Printfield Labourer at a Calico Printing works. The 14 year old Margaret is, like her sister Annie, a Yarn Beam Linker in a Yarn Bleaching works. Elizabeth, 11, and William, 8, are both still at school. On the day of the Census the Minnerys have a visitor - an Annie Brown, aged 48.
The family are mostly employed in mill related jobs. There were two mills in Barrhead, the Levern Mill and the Dovecothall Mill. Above is a picture of the Levern Mill in Barrhead. The Levern Mill provided employment for up to 1,000 people. The two mills acted as the catalyst for a boom in Barrhead's population, drawing people as far as Inverness and Ireland to work in burgeoning textile industry. However in the early days, much of the workforce was made up of children that had been recruited from the local poorhouses. In the early nineteenth century laws were passed to protect child workers and it was decided that children had to attend school part time. The mill owners set aside a building in the complex for the teaching of the 'half timers' and the first mill school in Barrhead was born. 'Half Timers' would typically work from 6am until 2pm and then attend school in the afternoon!
The family are mostly employed in mill related jobs. There were two mills in Barrhead, the Levern Mill and the Dovecothall Mill. Above is a picture of the Levern Mill in Barrhead. The Levern Mill provided employment for up to 1,000 people. The two mills acted as the catalyst for a boom in Barrhead's population, drawing people as far as Inverness and Ireland to work in burgeoning textile industry. However in the early days, much of the workforce was made up of children that had been recruited from the local poorhouses. In the early nineteenth century laws were passed to protect child workers and it was decided that children had to attend school part time. The mill owners set aside a building in the complex for the teaching of the 'half timers' and the first mill school in Barrhead was born. 'Half Timers' would typically work from 6am until 2pm and then attend school in the afternoon!
Eventually the mill would close after World War Two where it would
be used for storage for some years before becoming a ruin.
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